10 Pin Shuffle in Review – Almost as fun as the Truffle Shuffle!

10 Pin Shuffle is a beautiful looking game with amazing 3D graphics which brings you not one but two games within one application. You can play the American style bar room shuffleboard in which the goal is to slide your four weights down the shuffleboard table in an attempt to accumulate the most amount of points while not landing in the gutters. The second game play option is what’s called Shuffle Bowling which was created with real 3D pin physics. The twist here is that you’re ‘bowling’ with a puck on a shuffleboard table which makes for unique play. If only it was only that easy to nab 300 points! With that said, let’s delve into each game.

The developer, Digital Smoke really took their time with 10 Pin Shuffle. The level of polish shown in this game is far beyond what any other Shuffleboard app has shown thus far. When starting off with a new Shuffleboard game, you have the option to play against your iDevice or against a friend. When competing with your iDevice, there are four characters to defeat. The first opponent is immediately available and once you defeat that it, the next becomes unlocked. Each gets more difficult to defeat as their skill level increases. Once you select your opponent you next choose the point limit for your game. You can play up to 7, 11, 15 or 21 points. The first player to that amount is declared the winner.

With Shuffle Bowling, you once again have the option of playing versus your iDevice with 4 characters, 3 of which are unlockable. But, you can also play by yourself or against a friend. The rules are exactly the same as regular bowling with the only difference being that instead of in a bowling lane, the game is played on a shuffleboard table. Like I said, it’s a fun and unique twist. Aside from the actual game play, one of my favorite features within the bowling game is that it saves your statistics. It stores your three best games as well as a slew of other stats such as your average score, amount of games played, most strikes in a game and many more! It keeps you coming back to beat your previous scores and records.

As previously mentioned, the polish shown in this game doesn’t only show in the amazing 3D graphics but also in the control scheme. When playing, you can control you puck a couple of different ways. I use my index finger which I place on the puck to move it to the left or the right to align a shot. Once lined up, the puck can either be pulled back then pushed forward or released with a simple forward slide. I highly recommend trying it both ways to see which best suits you. The other option when controlling the direction & aim of your puck is to use the on- screen arrows to “set up” your shot. There you’ll see two arrows on the bottom of the screen that can be ‘swept’ to move your puck to the left or to the right. Above the puck, there are two more arrows which are slightly curved. By swiping them you can set up the angle in which you’re aiming your puck. Once again, I suggest trying both to see which works best for you. The control scheme does take some time getting used to, so you will need to practice different methods to perfect your shot.

A few other things to point out about this app are the sound effects. When crashing your puck into the pins you get an accurate and satisfying sound of pins crashing, however, when missing the pins, crickets “chirp” which leaves you embarassed. The crowd will cheer & jeer depending on how well you do. The sounds can get a bit repetitive after a while but fortunately, the developer gave us the option to listen to our own music while playing. Another good thing about this application is it weights in at only 6.3 MB; because the app is not big, loading times are next to none. Finally, you can also pick up where you left off when you get a phone call.

The $3.99 price tag might scare some people off, but you’re basically paying that price for 2 different games. This app has beautiful graphics, real 3D physics as well as very good replay value. There is a degree of difficulty with the controls but once mastered this app brings a lot to the table. One thing that is missing is Wi-Fi multiplayer ability which would be an excellent addition. When comparing this app to the other “Shuffle” titles out there, that is where this and the other apps stop in comparison.

Just letting everyone know that 10 Pin Shuffle has now been updated to v1.31 which adds a new 10 Pin Poker game to the mix. Also the two bad points in this review have also been addressed in previous updates. You can now play multiplayer against a friend over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and there are now Easy and Expert controls so even little kids can play.

There’s also a Free 10 Pin Shuffle Lite available now with just 10 Pin Poker included and no multiplayer.